Chapter 48

　　“What are your expectations for viewership?”

“The series hasn’t been officially released yet, but the two main actors have already gained a lot of attention. Do you have any plans to film their daily lives together?”

“Both main actors are from the studio. Do you have any plans to have them join the current live streaming trend?”

　　Champagne-colored red carpets and lilies—the online series’ press conference was decorated in a rather ordinary manner. They simply found a decent-quality hotel near the studio, rented a banquet hall for on-site decoration, and sent out media invitations.

　　Li Mu stood in the interview area, answering journalists’ questions in an orderly manner. When asked about music-related topics, he occasionally passed the microphone to Xu Yang, who was sitting beside him.

　　As the interview neared its end, a journalist directly addressed Xu Yang: “This web series is adapted from the most searched and clicked-on IP novel currently online. The plot is full of twists and turns, but we noticed that the same piece of music is used from the beginning to the end of the story. Is there any particular reason for this? Could you explain?”

　　Caught off guard by the direct question, Xu Yang paused for a moment in surprise. However, under the spotlight, he couldn’t afford to be flustered. After a brief pause, he responded calmly and coherently.

　　“Actually, we initially planned to purchase three songs of different styles to intersperse throughout the plot. However, one day, by chance, the theme song was discovered by Director Li. Coincidentally, this song has excellent adaptability; when performed with different instruments, it evokes different emotional experiences. It can be adjusted to match the emotional development of the plot and aligns with the main character’s loyalty and unwavering devotion to love…”

　　The stage was bathed in flashing strobe lights, and the nearby buffet area was bustling with activity. Bi Yuan quietly observed everyone coming and going from a corner of the banquet hall. A crowd had gathered around Ah Shi, apparently entertainment journalists. Bi Yuan noticed Ah Shi’s expression was as composed as a gentleman wearing a mask, and guessed that perhaps some bold gossip magazines were trying to extract information from him about the Zhou Lanyue scandal. At this, Bi Yuan sneered disdainfully.

　　He had already handled most of the matter, and Ah Shi could take care of the rest. However, he had a more difficult matter to deal with at the moment.

His gaze wandered around the banquet hall, occasionally resting on Xu Yang, but most of his attention was focused on the mushroom-haired boy who was dressed similarly to Xu Yang.

　　Wen Hao was still wearing his ever-present baseball cap, but the clothes he was wearing—whether by design or coincidence—were strikingly similar to Xu Yang’s outfit: Xu Yang was wearing a pair of jeans that were almost faded white paired with Bi Yuan’s shirt. When Bi Yuan had recently invited him to attend the press conference, he had been worried about not having suitable clothes to wear. Then he recalled that on the day Bi Yuan had taken him to school to pick up textbooks, Ling Jie from the school’s sanitation department had complimented him on his loose-fitting shirt and jeans, so he had immediately put on the shirt he had been hiding and hadn’t returned to Bi Yuan.

　　Seeing his own shirt on Xu Yang made Bi Yuan incredibly happy. From the moment he saw Xu Yang, he kept finding excuses to stay by his side, teasing him with lines like, “My clothes are so comfortable? No wonder you never returned them to me.” But those joyful emotions vanished when he saw the mushroom-haired boy wearing a similar outfit beside Xu Yang.

　　As Xu Yang’s interview came to an end, Bi Yuan carried a small cake and was about to walk over to Xu Yang. But by the time he pushed through the crowd with the cake and found Xu Yang, the boy in the baseball cap was already standing close to Xu Yang, their heads together as they looked at the photos in the DSLR camera.

　　However, Bi Yuan didn’t notice that while the two seemed to be chatting intimately, Xu Yang’s entire demeanor betrayed extreme discomfort.

　　After Wen Hao sent him the photos and accompanied them with such text messages that night, Xu Yang’s anxiety had grown increasingly intense, nearly driving him mad. He kept telling himself that Wen Hao was just joking with him again, that he was being overly sensitive, and that he needed to try to stay calm. But this seemingly simple task always proved elusive.

　　“You look really good in that outfit. It gives off a certain ‘forest-style’ vibe.” Wen Hao’s DSLR camera had taken numerous close-up photos of Xu Yang, including half-body shots of him sitting on a barstool, facial close-ups, and even captures of his gaze and expressions.

　　“What forest-style teenager? I’m not a college student.” After glancing at the photos in the camera, Xu Yang felt a bit awkward. It wasn’t because the photos were poorly taken, but because those close-ups of himself made him feel uneasy, as if he were being stalked.

　　He made an excuse to go get something to eat and leave, but Wen Hao stuck to him like glue, refusing to let him go. While telling him how cool he looked on stage, he also wanted to show him the photos in the camera. But Xu Yang just wanted to get rid of this enthusiastic kid. Unfortunately, he was someone who couldn’t say no. He came up with a few reasons to leave, but Wen Hao always managed to talk him out of it with a few words.

　　Perhaps noticing the anxiety on Xu Yang’s face, Wen Hao didn’t cling to him like glue when Xu Yang gave the flimsy excuse of needing to use the restroom. But just as Xu Yang finally exhaled in relief and was about to leave, Wen Hao said, “I knew you were close with Mr. Bi, but I didn’t realize how close.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Xu Yang stopped in his tracks.

　　“How… how did you know that?” Xu Yang’s smile suddenly stiffened, and his expression looked unnatural, as if he were waiting for Wenhao to continue. He had already taken two steps forward but stopped two meters away, listening to Wenhao’s response: “Because I saw you wearing Mr. Bi’s shirt, I suddenly felt that your relationship with Mr. Bi is really close.”

　　This statement was like a depth charge exploding in the depths of the ocean, stirring up chaos in Xu Yang’s innermost thoughts, with sand and stones rolling around. Though he tried to maintain a calm exterior, the slowly drooping corners of his mouth betrayed his panic.

　　He had never told anyone that the shirt he was wearing belonged to Bi Yuan, because he had always clung to a sliver of hope— —the shirt had no patterns or decorations, and the plain white shirt was cut in the most ordinary way. Though it was much too large on him, as Wen Hao had said, many forest-style men’s outfits paired loose shirts with jeans, and no one would think anything of it.

　　How did he know?

Xu Yang couldn’t keep up his casual expression, but Wen Hao smiled as naturally as ever. His large black-rimmed glasses covered most of his face, and his thick lenses made it impossible to see the expression in his eyes. His white teeth matched his lips confidently, making him look like a proud peacock, eager to show off his discovery.

　　Seeing Xu Yang stop in his tracks, Wen Hao instinctively moved closer to him, opened the photos on his DSLR camera, and leaned his head against Xu Yang’s shoulder, making it look like they were very close. Wen Hao pointed at the camera screen and said, “There’s a gold embroidered pattern around the cuff.”

It was a “Rampart” embroidered with light gold thread. Wen Hao said that everything in the closed courtyard was customized with this English word. “His custom notebook also had this word gold-stamped on it, and his pen too. So this shirt must be his as well?”

　　Xu Yang dared not meet Wen Hao’s eyes. He felt guilty, as if the reckless things he had done at Closed Wall’s house that night had been spied on. He even thought of the photos Wen Hao had sent him, saying that his expression looked like he had been secretly photographed after climaxing, that he looked like an AV male lead. All these words mixed together made him feel extremely anxious.

　　But Wen Hao continued to observe Xu Yang’s expression with interest, watching him struggle to hide his tension and deep thoughts. Wen Hao said, “No wonder Li Zong gave you an office as soon as you arrived and let your work be used as the theme song. It’s different when you have a good relationship with the boss.”

　　Without time to compose himself, Xu Yang blurted out, “I’m going to the restroom,” and hurried away from the person who made him feel inexplicably afraid. He couldn’t understand how someone who looked so innocent and cute could fire off such sharp and harsh words at him.

　　Like someone fleeing in panic, Xu Yang hurriedly left Wen Hao’s side, keeping his head down and pushing through the crowd, not even noticing that he had knocked over the small cake in Bi Yuan’s hand.